New Pill Drop Box Locations

As of May, 2018 there are now three new locations that community members can drop off their unwanted or unused medications, these locations are:

Alfred Pharmacy, 36 North Main Street, Alfred, NY 14802.

Friendship Pharmacy, 9 West Main Street, Friendship, NY 14739.

Nicholson’s Pharmacy, 36 Schuyler Street, Belmont, NY 14813.

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The new boxes were received through a grant offered by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation(DEC). Receiving the boxes for these three locations was a joint partnership between the Allegany Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, Inc(ACASA), the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office, Partners for Prevention in Allegany County(PPAC), and the three pharmacy owners: Jeff Marks of Friendship Pharmacy, Mark Hunter of Nicholson’s Pharmacy, and Tony Graziano of Alfred Pharmacy. The three businesses will participate in the DEC’s Pharmaceutical Take-Back Program for two years. After those two years, the Allegany County Sheriff’s Office will empty the boxes when they are full and take them to an incinerating location.

“I would like to thank the DEC for helping us supply these new drop boxes. These additional boxes make it easier for our residents to dispose of their expired or unwanted drugs, keep them out of our water supply, off our streets and out of the hands of our youth”– Sheriff Rick Whitney.

These new locations bring up the total pill drop locations to ten throughout Allegany County. The other pill drop box locations include:

Having ten boxes located throughout Allegany County to go along with the bi-annual pill drop events, and the Homebound Program hopefully encourages community members to properly dispose of their unwanted or unused medications through these means instead of keeping them in their medicine cabinet, flushing them down the toilet, or throwing them in the trash. By not disposing of your medications properly, it can cause unintended issues. Flushing medications down the toilet, allows those medications to get into our streams, rivers, lakes, and drinking water which can be harmful to the environment. By keeping medications in your medicine cabinet or throwing them in the trash it gives other people access to them. The majority of teens, who abuse prescription medication, get them from a family member without them knowing.

“Allegany County continues to benefit from having Pill Drop Boxes in a number of locations that are easily accessible to the general public. We all benefit by having unused medications disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner and off the streets”

– William Penman, Executive Director of ACASA

The Allegany County Sheriff’s Office has received over 459 pounds of medications from the pill drop boxes in 2018 and the April Pill Drop took in over 78 pounds of medications. The 78 pounds of medications received at the April Pill Drop contained over 1,200 of the pills that were controlled substances, which had a street value of roughly $12,000. Allegany County ranked third in prescribed opioids, but has the lowest population out of the five western counties that also includes: Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Erie and Niagara Counties.

“Hopefully, with more resources offered to the community medications stop finding their way on to our streets and kept out of the hands of our children.” – PPAC Coordinator Jon Chaffee.

The next Pill Drop Event will be held on October 27 from 10am to 2pm in Cuba and Canaseraga. More information and resources on proper disposal of medications can be found here. If you have any questions please email ppac@alleganycouncil.org